And the centerpiece of the Knicks' offer to the Clippers -- swingman Iman Shumpert -- suffered a sprained left knee Wednesday in New York's 98-91 win over New Orleans that could further impact talks. Yahoo! Sports reported the injury was a sprain to the MCL, citing league sources.

Yet sources close to the situation told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard late Wednesday that the Knicks were still hopeful of re-engaging with the Clippers before the deadline to try to push the trade through.

Earlier Wednesday, sources say that the Knicks tried to appease the Clippers by agreeing to tweak the proposed deal.

With the Clippers reluctant to take back the contract of Raymond Felton along with Shumpert -- and also hesitant to part with promising youngster Reggie Bullock -- New York hatched a compromise that called for the Clippers to send Matt Barnes to Madison Square Garden along with Collison for Shumpert and the out-of-favor Felton.

But sources said there was a sense Wednesday night, even before Shumpert got hurt, that the Clippers were losing interest in the trade because of their ongoing reluctance to absorb Felton's contract.

Barnes' inclusion in the deal was conceived to replace Bullock and appease L.A. somewhat.

But the Clippers -- high as they are on Shumpert's athleticism and defensive potential -- have been skittish from the start about taking on Felton's contract.

That proposed deal is an offshoot of the Knicks' long-running but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to acquire Kenneth Faried from the Nuggets; New York has been offering the combination of Shumpert and Udrih for Faried and Hamilton for months.

Yet that trade could hinge on Denver's ability to find a home for the disgruntled Andre Miller on deadline day. Washington, Minnesota and Sacramento have all been linked extensively with Miller, but no trade has materialized despite Denver's efforts to move him since early January.

Trading away Udrih, furthermore, doesn't address the Knicks' main trade objective. As ESPN.com reported Monday, New York has made it widely known that it badly wants to upgrade its options at point guard before the trade buzzer sounds.

After a fruitless months-long pursuit of Toronto's Kyle Lowry and a stalled bid for Atlanta's Jeff Teague, New York's focus shifted to Collison this week, sources said, when the Atlanta Hawks balked at taking back Felton's deal in a Teague trade.

Broussard reported that the Knicks and Clippers have been talking since Friday. Clippers forward Jared Dudley has also been discussed in talks, but his inclusion in a deal is not necessary to make a trade work financially.

Information from ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne and ESPNLosAngeles.com's Arash Markazi contributed to this report.